Left to Lure (An Adele Sharp Mystery—Book Twelve)

By Blake Pierce

“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists and the end brings a surprising revelation. I strongly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that enjoys a very well written thriller.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Almost Gone)

LEFT TO LURE is book #12 in a new FBI thriller series featuring Adele Sharp (the series begins with LEFT TO DIE, book #1) by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews.

A body is found strung up at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, leaving the local police baffled, and assuming it’s an isolated incident. Until tragedy strikes again, at an equally unusual setting.

FBI Agent Adele Sharp, haunted by the resurfacing of her mother’s killer, is called into investigate this unsual serial killer, as he crosses borders into other countries and evades all the police. But what is the connection between all the victims? Is this killer more psychotic than she thought? And can she piece together the clues, enter his mind, and unravel the mystery before more innocent lives are lost?

An action-packed mystery series of international intrigue and riveting suspense, LEFT TO LURE will leave you turning pages late into the night.

Book #13 in the series—LEFT TO CRAVE—is now also available!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blake Pierce
• Release date: Dec 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781094374192

Book preview

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L E F T

T O

L U R E

(An Adele Sharp Mystery—Book Twelve)

B L A K E   P I E R C E

Blake Pierce

Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising nineteen books; of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising thirteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising four books; of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising nine books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting).

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

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Copyright © 2021 by Blake Pierce. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright andreiuc88, used under license from Shutterstock.com.

BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES

HER LAST WISH (Book #1)

HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)

HER LAST FEAR (Book #4)

HER LAST CHOICE (Book #5)

HER LAST BREATH (Book #6)

AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES

CITY OF PREY (Book #1)

CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)

CITY OF BONES (Book #3)

CITY OF GHOSTS (Book #4)

CITY OF DEATH (Book #5)

CITY OF VICE (Book #6)

A YEAR IN EUROPE

A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)

DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)

VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)

A FATALITY IN SPAIN (Book #4)

ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)

GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)

GIRL, HUNTED (Book #3)

GIRL, SILENCED (Book #4)

GIRL, VANISHED (Book 5)

GIRL ERASED (Book #6)

GIRL, FORSAKEN (Book #7)

GIRL, TRAPPED (Book #8)

GIRL, EXPENDABLE (Book #9)

LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

ALREADY GONE (Book #1)

ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)

ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)

ALREADY MISSING (Book #4)

ALREADY DEAD (Book #5)

ALREADY TAKEN (Book #6)

EUROPEAN VOYAGE COZY MYSTERY SERIES

MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (Book #1)

DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) (Book #2)

CRIME (AND LAGER) (Book #3)

MISFORTUNE (AND GOUDA) (Book #4)

CALAMITY (AND A DANISH) (Book #5)

MAYHEM (AND HERRING) (Book #6)

ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES

LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)

LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)

LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)

LEFT TO KILL (Book #4)

LEFT TO MURDER (Book #5)

LEFT TO ENVY (Book #6)

LEFT TO LAPSE (Book #7)

LEFT TO VANISH (Book #8)

LEFT TO HUNT (Book #9)

LEFT TO FEAR (Book #10)

LEFT TO PREY (Book #11)

LEFT TO LURE (Book #12)

LEFT TO CRAVE (Book #13)

THE AU PAIR SERIES

ALMOST GONE (Book#1)

ALMOST LOST (Book #2)

ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)

ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES

FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)

FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)

FACE OF MADNESS (Book #4)

FACE OF FURY (Book #5)

FACE OF DARKNESS (Book #6)

A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)

THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)

THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)

THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)

THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)

THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)

THE PERFECT AFFAIR (Book #7)

THE PERFECT ALIBI (Book #8)

THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (Book #9)

THE PERFECT DISGUISE (Book #10)

THE PERFECT SECRET (Book #11)

THE PERFECT FAÇADE (Book #12)

THE PERFECT IMPRESSION (Book #13)

THE PERFECT DECEIT (Book #14)

THE PERFECT MISTRESS (Book #15)

THE PERFECT IMAGE (Book #16)

THE PERFECT VEIL (Book #17)

THE PERFECT INDISCRETION (Book #18)

THE PERFECT RUMOR (Book #19)

CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

NEXT DOOR (Book #1)

A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)

CUL DE SAC (Book #3)

SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)

HOMECOMING (Book #5)

TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)

KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES

IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)

IF SHE SAW (Book #2)

IF SHE RAN (Book #3)

IF SHE HID (Book #4)

IF SHE FLED (Book #5)

IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)

IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)

THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES

WATCHING (Book #1)

WAITING (Book #2)

LURING (Book #3)

TAKING (Book #4)

STALKING (Book #5)

KILLING (Book #6)

RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES

ONCE GONE (Book #1)

ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)

ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)

ONCE LURED (Book #4)

ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)

ONCE PINED (Book #6)

ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)

ONCE COLD (Book #8)

ONCE STALKED (Book #9)

ONCE LOST (Book #10)

ONCE BURIED (Book #11)

ONCE BOUND (Book #12)

ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)

ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)

ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)

ONCE MISSED (Book #16)

ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)

MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES

BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)

BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)

BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)

BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)

BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)

BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)

BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)

BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)

BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)

BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)

BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)

BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)

BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)

BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)

AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES

CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)

CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)

CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)

CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)

CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)

CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)

KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES

A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)

A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

CHAPTER ONE

The interrogation room chill nipped at Adele's skin. She half expected her breath to fog as she stared across the metal table. Her heart hammered with fervor, like the rising beat of war drums.

Her fingers didn't quite tap the table, hovering half an inch above the cold metal as if caught in indecision. The same sort of motion she'd often seen Agent Renee take when preparing for action. Hands poised—eyes unblinking, on the verge of imminent violence.

The small man with the dull eye slumped in the chair across from her, studying her. His shit-eating grin still painted across his frail features. The man had pallid skin with weak bones. Agent Renee would have torn the guy to pieces if they'd been left alone in a room. But now it was as if an invisible cage were erected between them.

Adele could feel her own fury meeting her sense of duty. Her rage, her pain confronting her legacy. Not just hers, but her father's, her mother's. Little Cara, tell me what's wrong... Even now she could remember her mother's voice whispering in her ear when she'd returned home from swim practice. A few of the girls on the team had pushed her into the deep end, refusing to let her up. Each time she'd tried to escape the water, they'd pushed her back in, laughing and giggling. Mocking her accent for the rank enjoyment of her humiliation.

People could be cruel.

And yet her mother hadn't focused on that. She'd focused on her daughter. Little Cara. Nicknamed after the sweet carambars—caramel candies with jokes inside the wrappers.

How had Elise Romei managed to live like an angel, trapped on this hellish plane?

Tortured to death, eventually, by this demon sitting in a skin suit across from her.

Adele's eyes moved from the man's leering lips to his eyes. She held his gaze, watching him, her hands still hovering above the table. She didn't know what to do. What could she do?

I see it in you, friend, murmured the man suddenly, speaking for the first time in nearly ten minutes. I see it in your eyes... You have such wonderful eyes, you know? The way the light catches your irises. I can spot the shapes of your features—everyone is just shapes and colors.

Adele exhaled slowly, on the verge of breaking. She inhaled, exhaled, staring hard at the man.

Don't you want to know what I see? the self-styled painter asked, tilting his head. His smile diminished somewhat, replaced now by a look of curiosity.

He'd killed Angus, her old boyfriend. She had thought they would be married once upon a time. Adele felt her phone in her pocket. Only twenty minutes since she'd received the call from Agent Lee Grant back in San Francisco. Angus McClure—tortured to death.

The little monster had flown to the U.S. just to torment Adele a bit more, before returning again to Paris and turning himself in. How long had he been planning this, though? The statute of limitations had expired. Ten years since he'd killed Adele's mother.

The other cases—Angus, Robert, the failed attack on her father—didn't have evidence. France wouldn't extradite anyway. Not to Germany. Not to the USA. They'd proven this before, more than once in international cases. The attack on Robert, though, was a dead end. The painter claimed a copycat must have done it.

And now, there he sat, openly mocking her. Leering.

Well? he said, insistently. Do you want to know what I see?

Adele kept her lips pressed, her hands slowly lowering to the table now, splayed against the cold metal.

Hmm? No? I shall tell you anyway, he said, in that lilting, nearly feminine voice of his. You and I were always meant to be friends, he said softly. Always. I knew it the moment we met. Yes. I see it in your eyes. Right now, I do! He leaned across the table with his own hands clasped in front of him as if in prayer. They hadn't even cuffed the little monster. He wagged his head up and down, his single, dull eye glinting in the overhead lights. I see you want to kill me, no? This will make you like me. We will be friends together, hmm? He smiled again, this time not so much mocking, as pleased. He stared off for a moment, eyes on the gray wall behind Adele as if she weren't even in the room. Every painter needs a muse, he murmured. Every artist needs inspiration. I haven't thanked you enough. And so here I am, in part, to extend my gratitude. Thank you, Adele. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you. He looked sincere all of a sudden, his hand rising, extending towards her as if to shake.

She stared at his hand, her own still resting on the table. You thank me? she murmured. You think I'm like you? She could feel her mind whirring, could feel the cold prickle of sheer loathing across her skin. He was trying to get into her head. Trying to occupy space in her thoughts. The worst part? He was succeeding. She couldn't stop him. She didn't know how to connect him with Robert's case. Didn't know what to do next. And now he'd turned himself in, just so he could watch as she learned about the death of Angus. She knew with a bone-deep certainty there was no end in sight to all of this.

Not unless she put a bullet in his evil little skull.

But then would that make him right about her?

Would she become like him?

You will, he said, nodding slowly, as if trying to guess at her thoughts. He kept his small hand extended towards her. He winced a bit, moving his jaw and clacking his teeth together as if it hurt all of a sudden. It's cold in here, he said. Do you mind asking to turn up the heat?

Adele just watched him, not even glancing towards his hand now. Where you're going, she said, it will be very hot.

Hell? Haha. Perhaps. I see, though. This was clever. I like how you did that, Adele. You and I have a lot of work to do, together. Do you understand?

Adele felt another prickle along her spine. Not just fury, this time. Not just hatred. But fear.

Her father was still in France. John was here, too. She didn't have many loved ones left. But who would the killer go after next?

We started when you were young, he said softly. Only in your twenties. I wish I'd met you even before that. That is my one regret. If I had known you as a child, I would have perfected my work long ago. As it is, it took me years... That is okay, though. It is. You and I will be like each other. Then we will be friends. I can see it in your eyes. You want to love me. You want to. I know you do.

You're insane, Adele snapped, shoving suddenly from the table. She stood trembling in the chill room, feet at shoulder width, facing down the small man. We are nothing alike.

And yet I see death in your eyes. Am I wrong?

Adele considered this, scarcely wanting to give the man so much as a drop of attention. But he wasn't wrong. She did want to kill him. Badly. It was the only way to stop him. Nothing was going to get in his way now. Not unless she did something. The police in Paris couldn't charge him—not with the ten years up. Americans couldn't do anything, not even if they attached the painter to the death of Angus. No.

It was down to Adele.

And what could she do? Her mother's death—to the justice system it was as good as non-existent. As if it hadn't even happened. They would let the man confess, use their laws to permit him back on the street hours later.

Where was the justice in that?

A bullet... A bullet could solve her problems. Adele found her chest heaving, standing beneath the glare of the fluorescent light, across from the metal table. She still had her weapon on her—hadn't surrendered it in her haste to enter the interrogation room. Her fingers buzzed where they hovered at her waist. She wanted so badly to just end it all right there.

For a moment, the two of them just stared across the table at each other, as if there weren't any other souls in the universe. The small man watched the fierce glare of the DGSI agent.

No, Adele whispered at last. Lowering her hand.

She thought of her mother. Thought of Little Cara. The killer had bemoaned they hadn't met sooner. He wished he could have met her when she'd been a child. But he hadn't. That part of her belonged to no one but her mother. To her father.

This man wasn't her life—he was just a blemish. The rust in a car, not anything to do with the car itself.

You're just rust, she murmured

Excuse me?

I'm nothing like you. You're the cancer. And I'll find a way to remove you. But I'm not like you. She adjusted her sleeves, shaking badly and then turned.

It took almost every ounce of willpower to wheel about. Every moment she woke up early in the morning, going for a two-hour run. Every instance of facing a killer, stomaching her fears. Every time she'd spoken with John, pushing aside her doubt to work on their relationship.

It all took a type of courage. It all took a willingness to do the hard thing.

And in a way, incredibly, in that moment, it felt like it had all trained her for this very moment. She had built a life on doing the hard thing. And now, she would do it again.

He deserved a bullet. She wanted to end it there.

But she refused to be like the bastard.

Images of her mother... Of Robert... bleeding, bleeding, always bleeding... flashed across her mind. For a freezing second, she thought she might change her mind. And do...

Do what?

She wasn't sure.

But then, the same part of her that woke early, that worked hard, that fought for what was right, that fought to bring monsters to justice—that same part of her felt like an iron resolve. She turned, twisting at the hips in as slow a motion as she'd ever managed.

We're very similar, he called out after her. I look forward to speaking again.

Adele wanted to reply with something witty, something scathing. But nothing came to mind. He held all the cards, and he knew it. Anything but silence would only have felt petty, cheap.

So Adele said nothing, turning, picking up her pace, and marching towards the sealed door of the interrogation room.

She felt his eyes on her, watching her leave, studying her like a specimen.

Wherever she went, she would feel those eyes. Feel him watching.

Even with her back to him, even a thousand miles away, she knew—one way or another—this would have to end between the two of them. There was no going back, no backing down.

Right now, even as she pushed out of the interrogation room, as if in slow motion, she knew she had to connect the painter to his crimes. As she took her first step out into the corridor, she was already running through all the possible ways she might do just that. There was a way. There had to be.

And she was determined to find it.

Adele picked up her pace, her hands shaking so badly; she jammed them into her pockets.

CHAPTER